


Bedside Presence

by forgottenwords



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alana POV, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Post 'Roti', slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-14 12:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgottenwords/pseuds/forgottenwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’s sitting vigil next to his bedside, watching him sleep as his chest falls up and down. After this traumatic experience, Will was going to need a friend. </p>
<p>Alana waits for Will to wake up in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedside Presence

She’s sitting vigil next to his bedside, watching him sleep as his chest falls up and down. It’s a relief to finally see him at peace, no nightmares or dreams plaguing his fragile mind which has had enough abuse for a lifetime.

_He’s too close. Close enough to be fading. ___

Alana sits next to the bed, Will’s hand underneath her own. It’s something tangible to hold onto, something real to reassure he is still here. Her fingers search for the pulse point on the underside of his wrist and lightly graze the skin. Wills heartbeat is still fast, too fast, she thinks, but the nurse who came in half an hour ago told her the adrenaline and fever were still leaving his system.

_102.4 degrees. Not nearly fast enough._

Glancing at his face, she tries to push down the guilt at seeing Will like this, exhausted and broken from being worn too thin. If it wasn’t for Gideon escaping from transport, Will wouldn’t have had to save her in the first place. Shaking her head, instead she looks up at the clock on the wall, distracting from the guilt starting to lie in her bones.

_2:13am ___

It occurs to her that she should go home and get some sleep, Will should be fine without her at the hospital, but the anxiousness grows in the pit of her stomach thinking about what happened mere hours earlier. How close she had come to being the next victim. Plus, the thought of leaving Will alone after his experience made her feel physically sick. The weight of his hand calmed her nerves, and she sneaks another glance over at him.

His hair is sticking up in places; there is a light film of sweat covering his forehead and two large bruise coloured circles under his eyes. His cheeks have regained more colour now though, which is hopefully a good sign.

But it’s more the mental affects this will have on him than the physical. His mind was like a damaged dam, and eventually it’s going to break and everything will spill out. She knew from the beginning how badly his empathy was going to affect him. From the moment he shot Garret Jacob Hobbs he had starting acting different. 

He wasn’t sleeping and on the rare moments he did, occurrences of sleep walking and night terrors occurred. There was a bottle of aspirin kept on him at all times and it certainly didn’t seem like he was eating well. Besides whenever Dr. Lector cooked and served meals for them. 

It made her wonder how Will could manage to take care of seven dogs while not even being able to properly take care of himself.  
Reaching over, she placed a hand against his forehead and felt the heat radiating from him. His skin still clammy, she ran a hand gently through his hair before pulling away.

“Oh Will…”

Suddenly, he moved his head to the side and started to mumble. Her hand froze in midair trying to capture the words coming from his lips.

“Ah...Alana.”

She cracked a small smile at his attempts to say her name, placing her hand back atop of his. Even when bedridden and thoroughly exhausted he still had the audacity to worry about her. It was touching, but it was time that someone worried about him. Not that she didn’t worry about him previously, but after this traumatic experience, Will was going to need a friend. 

Pulling her chair closer to the bed and trying to get as comfortable as the hospital chair would allow, she gripped his hand tighter and settled in for a long night. She was going to be that friend when he woke up in the morning. As her eyes slowly closed, muscles relaxing, her mind couldn’t help but go over the conversation they had had about sleeping next to dogs and a space heater.

That outcome definitely would have been more pleasant than finding him face down in the snow. She pondered the upcoming morning’s events and getting him discharged from the hospital, but couldn’t help but think there’s always tomorrow.

_Goodnight Will. ___


End file.
